‘Selling the dream’: Law School Branding and the Illusion of Choice

Abstract

In a little over 20 years, the number of law schools in Australia has tripled — from 12 to 36. The catalyst for this revolutionary change occurred in 1988 when by a stroke of the pen the then Minister for Employment, Education and Training, John Dawkins, declared all Colleges of Advanced Education (CAEs) to be part of a new unified national system of higher education with the option of becoming universities (Dawkins 1988). The intention was to increase school retention rates and enhance the calibre of the Australian workforce so that Australia might be more competitive on the world stage. Despite